Peacemaker
by JohnDowe
Summary: This is the Story of Agent East, BE-204 of Bravo Co., an experiment created to become a Living Weapon for Project Peacemaker. All she had ever known was Peacemaker, they were her family. But what happens once she learns about her life, and about her past. When the secrets are out and the lies exposed, what will happen once she learns who her family really is.
1. Chapter 1

**In Another World**

* * *

Nearly two weeks ago a transmission from the former UEG colony of Meridian sent a transmission to Charon Industries about a possible hostile presence on the independent planet. Meridian worked hard to remain independent and didn't want anything, especially if was the UNSC, to be interfering with their not so legal operations and contacted the company to deal with the nuisance quietly. They dispatched their Flag Ship, the _Staff of Charon_ to deal with the problem.

Onboard, the agents of Bravo Company, were practicing in the training room waiting for their orders to go down planet side. They hadn't been deployed on a mission in months and they were excited. As being apart of Bravo Co. they were specially trained and tasked with more covert missions such as sabotage, espionage, and above all assassination, therefore they were mostly on the bench while Alpha Company and Charlie Company got more action.

Agent North, the team leader of Bravo Co. was with his men making sure they were all still in top shape for their assignment. He had Agent South and Agent West sparring each other making sure they were on top, performance wise. The two of them were the worst slackers out of all of the program. "Alright guys, that last one was good. One more time."

The two agents gave groans as they complained to their leader. "Come on North. We've been at this for over an hour. We're exhausted." West complained.

"Listen, the boss is gonna be here soon to give us our orders. I just want to make sure he takes us serious this time." He said.

South just sat down on the floor refusing to follow orders. "Why does it matter, I think we've done good so far." She said.

Agent East stood forward backing up her leader by proving that overall, they were the worst preforming Company in the entire program. "Yeah sure South that would explain why we're at the bottom of the list. Even Delta Co. is above us and all they do is sit on their butts and take phone calls."

South just shrugged. "Maybe we've just had a bad year." She said. West was in the process of moving a stack of rifles to another table when he tripped over nothing and they all scattered all over the floor.

"Yeah more like four bad years." North said but then they heard the elevator sound and slowly start riding down. North immediately ordered his men to stand at attention believing that it was the boss of Charon himself. "Quick guys get off your asses, he's coming." He ordered and they all quickly got to their feet and stood in order. Agents North being number one, then South, then West, and then East.

The elevator finally arrived on the ground floor and the light dinged on. North waited for the boss to step put and see that his soldiers were ready and standing at attention. But instead of the the boss, when the doors opened out stepped Alpha Co. much to Bravo's dismay. The leader of Alpha stepped out with her men tailing behind in order and with a smirk on her face seeing Bravo.

"Oh look at this guys, Bravo was waiting to greet us." She said. All sense of pride vanished from North and Bravo and was replaced with dread. "As you were agent."

Bravo Co. could feel the hate radiating from their leader. "What are you doing here D.C. last time I check we had the training room to ourselves." He said.

"Oh don't mind us. We just wanted to observe so I could show my men what a couple of sore losers looked like." She said. Her men started chuckling at her sick burn. "You know the if you want to use a rifle properly, they shouldn't be on the floor."

Alpha Company was considered the best of the best of the program and their track record proved it. Most confirmed kills, most completed missions, highest body count, highest score in Guitar Hero and above all, the biggest, most obnoxious jackasses in the entire program. Either everyone loved them and wanted to join them, or everyone hated them, and no one hated them more then North.

"Seriously, what are you really doing here!" he demanded.

D.C. approached the other leader maintaining that same smirk he hated. "Oh I'm just here to support my little brother on his big mission." She and started roughing his hair. he heated when she did that and forcefully pushed her away. She wasn't amused, taking that shove as an insult, but didn't matter to her. "We're also here for when the boss arrived and realized it was a mistake to send you, that he'd have a better, much more accomplished and professional alternative."

The rest of Bravo were now steaming with anger as they approached the other team. The was four of them stood in front of the seven out of the usual fifteen of Alpha Co. They all stood up against each other ready to throw down. Despite being out numbered they could easily stand their ground against Alpha. They were always going on the best missions and were always around to convince the superiors into to pull things in their favor leaving the rest, especially Bravo in the dust. They knew that Bravo really needed this job and so they would try anything to screw them over.

North just stared at his sister in the eyes with hatred, while she stared back with a smirk. "Tell your team to stand down." She said.

"You can't order me around." North said back.

"Really? Because I do believe I outrank you."

"We're both the lead of our own Company, which means we are equally ranked."

D.C. just gave a scoff. "Sure keep telling yourself that. Whatever makes you feel better."

North raised his fist ready to just punch his sister in the face when he felt East hold him back, trying to calm him down. He whipped around seeing her staring at him, that look in her eye saying ' _its not worth it_ ' made him calm down.

D.C. scoffed again. "Thats what I thought." She said. "Do you know why they named you all after the compass? So that you'd always know how to make your way to the bottom of the leaderboard. Where you belong."

Just then the second elevator arrived and out walked Agent Wyoming, Warrant Officer and head of Alpha Co. AKA Jackass Extraordinaire. He quickly approached the tense group getting ready to disarm the situation and most likely pin the blame on Bravo. "Whoa, hold on everyone stand down." He ordered and then two teams relaxed but only barely. "Alright whats going on? D.C. what has Bravo done?" He asked his Lieutenant.

"Nothing Officer. We just simply wanted to see Bravo train and then they threatened us." She lied. "They even pulled these guns on us."

"Thats not true!" West retaliated. "They came and interrupted our training session."

"Stand down soldier." Wyoming ordered. West gave a frustrated huff, and did as the superior said. "I think I have to have a word with your C.O. Wheres Michigan?" He asked and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard him standing right behind him.

"Did you need something?" He asked.

Wyoming yelped and jumped back landing on one of the rifles and fall on his ass. Michigan said nothing only walked around his fallen comrade and stood straight with his hands behind his back with his Company. Seeing the disgruntled Warrant Officer made East snort and quietly say. "Eat sh*t." However her comment didn't go unheard as she her fellow agents started chuckling silently. Wyoming immediately shot up, singling out East personally.

"What was that agent?!" Wyoming said as he got back to his feet. East stood at attention silently refusing to answer, but Wyoming wasn't taking it. "Mitch, I think you should tell your soldier to apologize."

"No I allow it." Michigan simply said without having a single care in the matter. "Except, East watch your language."

"Yes sir." She said and then had a slight smile knowing that her officer always had her back.

Wyoming was upset now, getting really close the Michigans face. "I don't think your understanding. Your soldiers are not only disrespectful, but they always seem to be causing trouble for my Company. And we, don't, appreciate it." He said emphasizing the last words with poking Michigan's chest. No one had ever spoken against Michigan directly before, and Wyoming's actions made Bravo surprised and speechless. Michigan just stared at him confused about why he thought that poking him in the chest was necessary.

"I'm sorry, _we_ are causing the problem?" Michigan questioned. "Cause I do believe that my company had the room to themselves to prepare for their mission. Seems to me that your crew is the one causing problems." He stated.

"Well mate then perhaps you and your company need a reminder that we are Number One on the leaderboard, meaning we can do as we please without a problem. Now, do you understand, or do I need to explain it to you some other way?" Wyoming nearly threatened and stood closer to Michigan who remained unfazed.

"Are you really threatening me with physical violence? Oh please no don't. That would just, it wouldn't be funny, it would just be sad." The agents all gave _ooohs_ , and Wyoming thought of his response as though he was challenging him. Except Michigan was genuinely confused about what was going on.

"Oh is that it. So you want to brawl? Go one on one right now!?" Wyoming challenged.

"That depends, when was the last time you spoke to your physician, and do you need you left kidney." Michigan asked.

Wyoming was ready to throw a punch when he heard his response. He gave a step back and gave up completely. The way he said that so bare, flat, and emotionless, how he stood, back straight, and arms held behind was not at all imposing and terrifying at the same time. "Well. Just be glad I forgave you. Don't want to embarrass you in front of you company." he said and then just walked away toward his company to have a private meeting.

Bravo was hyped and proud after seeing that display and congratulated and thanked their Warrant Officer for having their support. Michigan once again was just confused. "No seriously what just happened I like fell asleep half way." He said. All were quiet and attention was focused just as they heard the voice of the boss himself speak.

"You were right to stand down Wyoming. I'm fairly certain that you wouldn't have stood a chance against Michigan." The main man himself, Malcom Hargrove himself spoke. All were silent, not even Alpha spoke up to defend their Officer. They all just stood there at attention as the head of the entire program approached Bravo. They all stood at attention and saluting as he walked. "And you must be Bravo. Please incase I've forgotten, Agents North, South, West and East, introduce yourselves."

The four agents simultaneously took one step forward and stood at attention as they spoke in order. "Sir! Nathaniel BN-201! Team Leader!"

"Stephenie! BS-202!"

"Wesley! BW-203!"

"Emma! BE-204!"

They all announced and then quietly let go of the breath the were each holding in, thankful that they didn't screw up their introduction. Hargrove gave a smile at the agents. He already knew of Emma, before she joined Bravo and became agent East, and from the looks of it, she was a great asset to them. He turned to the Warrant Officer in charge. "And you believe that they are ready, Officer Michigan?" He asked.

"Ever since I started helping with training and with the added addition of Agent East, their performance has increased by thirty-eight percent. Yes, their ready." He stated. His words brought a smile to all of Bravo, but especially to East. He was always protective of her so she was glad that he thought she was ready for an important mission like this.

Hargrove turned back to face the four agents and pulled his tablet to begin the briefing. But before he could start Wyoming stepped forward. "Sir, if I may. I think it would be better to send Alpha down there. No disrespect of course, but my company is much more accomplished and could finish the job in record time. We are at the top of the leaderboard." He said. Almost immediately Bravo's smiles vanished and was replaced with either worry or anger. East turned to Michigan who was as well upset by Wyomings interjection.

"You would be correct." Hargrove said and it brought a cold presence to Bravo who felt as though their chance was slipping from their grasp. "If you wanted to start a War Zone!" he raised his voice, much to the surprise of, just about everyone. Except Michigan. "You team would go down their, guns blazing, blowing down doors and the enemy would cease all productivity and destroy any data that we could use for our program. The last thing I need is to explain to the government of Meridian and/or potentially the UNSC what the bloody hell was going on down there."

He was nearly shouting at this point getting in Wyoming's face. He had made his point and he quickly calmed down. "This mission requires, precision and discretion. Which is why I expect Bravo to be ready to go within the hour. You will be briefed on the Pelican flight down. Dismissed."

* * *

After a the excitement of Bravo finally getting assigned a mission finally past they spent another ten minutes in the training room getting ready and in shape for the mission. Once that was done they would later arrived at the armory to grab their weapons and other equipment that they would need. While the others grabbed SOCOM'd SMG's and Magnums East grabbed her special custom sniper rifle that she kept in her locker for such occasions as this, a gift from her mentor Michigan once she completed her sniper training. West commented that it was like when he got his first car when he graduated high school. East wouldn't know anything about that, she never went to school.

Once they were ready they all arrived to the hanger where they boarded the Pelican that was waiting on stand by and where Michigan was waiting for them. Once they were all situated, the Pelican lifted off the floor and took off into space and toward the planet below. During the flight, Bravo couldn't hold back the joy of finally getting an assignment after so long, but after a while Michigan had to calm them down so he could give them the briefing.

A few miles north-west of a Liang-Dortmund mining facility, an abandoned army outpost had recently gone active. The Liang-Dortmund Corporation has hired Charon Industries to investigate and if possible to terminate the disturbance with discretion or else putting their investments at risk. Their mission is to infiltrate the small outpost and eliminate the captain in charge. They'll receive a bonus if there are no survivors.

After about an hour of flying they finally made it planet side. The natural gravity of the planet felt real good. They hadn't experienced real gravity in a long time. West commented on how he came a little in his pants which made everyone groan and comment on how disgusting that was.

"Hey East." Michigan called from the cockpit. "Can I speak to you for a minute?" He asked before retreating into the room. East stood up without question and followed him inside, shutting the door behind her. "Alright boots on the ground in ten minutes. How you feeling?" He asked as he always did, before an exercise, or in this case, an actual mission.

"I'm feeling good. Kind of nervous, but good." She said, but then gave a little wince of pain. "Just got a little headache, but it'll pass. I hope."

Michigan reached behind in one of his compartments in his armor and pulled out a little syringe. "Maybe this'll take the edge off."

East stared at the needle confused and wondering while after all these years her mentor would tell her to take drugs. And then just like the headache resurfacing, it hit. She checked her watch and saw that the timer had surpassed by over seven minutes. "Damn!" She exclaimed.

"Language."

"Sorry." She said. "Could you?"

She asked and he complied. She turned and Michigan took the syringe, gently imbedding it into one of of the veins on her neck. She was stiff and rigid but once the medication started coursing through her bloodstream her body relaxed. "Thanks." She said and then reset the timer on her watch for another twenty-four hours.

"You'll do great out there. I know it." Michigan said.

"Of course you do. You trained me after all." She said then returned to the hold.

After a little while longer the Pelican finally landed and the hatch opened up. Bravo leapt out of the drop-ship, weapons drawn and securing the area from any hostiles, just like they had rehearsed over and over again. The nav-points all blared on their heads up display, the target location was just two miles south of their current location. "Yes! South! I'm in charge!" South shouted. She wasn't wrong however. Bravo had a long tradition, which ever direction they were heading, they were in charge. And without anymore discussion, South lead the team toward the outpost.

After the two mile walk, they finally spotted the outpost. Standing three stories tall, it was a lot bigger then they were expected, but it wouldn't be much of a challenge. Outside alone they spotted three Warthogs and nine guards. A little south-west from where they were sitting was a hill that could serve as a good vantage point. "East. West." North called and pointed toward the hill. The two nodded and climbed up. When they reached the top, East picked the perfect spot for covering the team and readied her sniper rifle.

"What do you see?" West asked. he stayed low behind cover afraid of giving away their position.

East looked through her scope and started spying through the windows. Aside from the three warthogs and the nine guards, she counted at between seven or eight more men inside, she couldn't tell, and at the top floor of the building she spotted the captain in tan and cyan colored armor sitting by a terminal. "At least half a dozen inside. And I found the captain. I think he's taking a call."

West fed the information to his two comrades below who had now moved to take cover behind an old Elephant truck. "Do you think its the Sundered Legion?" He asked.

"I doubt it. They haven't been around since before the Great War. And that was a long time ago." East answered. She was still looking through her scope when she spotted a soldier walking towards the truck and toward the agents. "Guys heads up." She warned and just as the soldier got close, North grabbed him, pulled behind and fired two shots into his head.

"Nice." South commented.

"More bogeys guys." East called as she spotted four more soldiers. They probably spotted their fellow man get grabbed and were going to investigate with weapons drawn. East took aim and fired at the one who fell back and dropped dead. North and South hopped over and fired three precise shots taking out the other three men.

There was a guard on the roof on his patrol when he spotted the two running toward the building. He got on his radio just as he was shot dead by East. All that went through was clank of metal and a _blah_. Two other guards decided to check the roof for their fellow soldier. When they arrived they found their dead teammate and were snipped by East with deadly precision.

"Damn your good!" West commented.

"Can thank Michigan for this." East said as she loaded a fresh magazine.

"West get on the roof. Help us out." North said over the radio.

After dispatching the last remaining guards outside, North and South entered the building and took out the men on the first floor and were quickly moving to the top. West quickly climbed down By now the building was on alert, but they weren't completely aware of the threat. North and South were at the door and placed a breaching charge. West was waiting by a window and ready to leap in. North gave East the command to give the go. When she takes the shot they charge in.

East took aim at the captain who was looking more frantic with his call. She took the shot and his helmet blasted as he collapsed to the floor. The door exploded and West leapt inside and started gunning down the last remaining soldiers. "Nice work team." North announced.

East took her rifle and then started making her way down toward the base where she joined her team in the third floor. After they got to getting rid of the bodies they tried getting to work on combing through their computers to figure out what they were doing here. She was more set on who the captain was. After searching his body she found his tags which read Captain Charles Palomo. She took his tags as she usually did. A trophy.

"So how did we do?" She asked as she walked over to West.

"You did great as usual." He said as he rapidly tapped on the keyboard. "I'm having problems with this damn thing."

East gave a scoff and then removed her helmet as she moved West to see the problem. "Step aside." She looked at the computer and just saw a repeating message that read. _An Orc Blocks your path._ After taking a second East typed in a response. "Attack Orc." The computer responded. _With What_. "With a Sword." She responded. The Computer responded. _You Don't Have A Sword_. "I don't have a, this is a waste of time. Just run the algorithm and transfer the files." She said and then connected the flash drive to the computer. West got to work on getting the job done.

"Uh oh." South said. "We got a runner." She pointed out the window where there was one last soldier jumping into a Warthog.

"On it." East said and readied her rifle. She took aim on the speeding vehicle aiming just in front of the actual jeep. She fired and saw the flash of blood, the driver go limp and the Warthog swerve out of control and ultimately crash. "Got it."

"Nice." North said. "Alright, West once your finished we're heading home."

"I think we did pretty good." East said.

North walked up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She could see the smile under his helmet. "We did great."


	2. Chapter 2

After they completed their mission, Bravo Co. had returned to the _Staff of Charon_ , and were currently waiting for their debriefing with Malcom Hargrove. They had assumed with the success of their mission, that he would be happy with the results, however they were wrong. When he arrived in the Command Center they could tell he was upset. Sure they were successful in eliminating the enemy and the Captain, but they didn't find any crucial intel.

Information was the biggest priority of the entire project, and since they came empty handed Hargrove had assumed that they screwed something up. It wasn't looking good for Bravo after their first mission in many months, and they had a bad feeling that after this, they were sure to be benched for another several months. "Not only did you have complete disregard for standard protocol, but you also failed to acquire the intelligence that was to be found at the enemy outpost!"

As team leader North responded trying to defend his teams efforts. "Sir, we tore through those hard drives, we didn't find anything. Maybe Meridians intel was off."

"We even checked out Pinnacle, Darkstar and Apogee stations." South said. "They had nothing to report."

Hargrove didn't appreciate having the agent speak out of line like she did. However the report wasn't specific on the kind of threat they were going to be dealing with. Then again when Bravo reported that the mission was a success, Hargrove received a message from Liang-Dortmund that Bravo Company had been snooping around in some of their facilities, and warned they found it unacceptable despite their success. "And who gave you permission to do such a thing!?" He demanded.

His response left them silent. He took their silence as a sign of defeat. "This is not some sort of private investigating service where you can go around breaking offices and trespassing private property!" He stated firmly. "Project PeaceMaker is meant to bring safety and security to the galaxy. And that is exactly what you are meant to do. Which means you can not be investigating the very people who have hired you to do your job!"

Maybe he was wrong in sending them on this mission, and it would have been wiser to send Alpha Co. instead. However perhaps they were right on the matter of Liang-Dortmund giving false information and were just simply baiting them just to get rid of a nuisance. Bravo was successful in terminating the threat and Meridian was happy with the results and paid in full, including the bonus for leaving no survivors.

"I'll commend you for performance, the mission was in fact successful. But be warned. Next time I don't want to have our investors breathing down the back of my neck because of your mishaps. I don't want to be having this same conversation in the later future or that will be your last mission. Understood!"

Bravo stood straight and said "Yes Sir".

Hargrove turned his attention to East and walked to stand in front of her. "I expected better from you. Maybe it was too soon to send you back into the field." He said to her which left her stunned and upset. "I will leave all of you to your Warrant Officer. Dismissed."

As he walked away the rest of Bravo were ready to leave as well except for East. She remained still and quiet after what he said. She did her best out there and she was almost perfect, she did her job and didn't miss a single shot. She knew she did a great job, but Hargroves words made her feel like she was a mistake. Her team was almost out the door when North noticed her still standing in the middle of the command center. "Hey East." He called back. His voice snapped her out of her trance. "You okay, we're heading to the Mess Hall to grab a bite to eat."

She turned around and saw only North standing in the doorway. She turned around and started making her way out of the room as well. "You guys go ahead, I'll catch you later." She said and started down the hall making her way toward her dorm.

North couldn't help but see that she was upset. Most likely about what Hargrove said back there, he didn't like what he said, but he was in no position to talk back, especially to the boss. "Hey East, you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just gonna get some rest." She said was gone before North could respond.

After riding the elevator and walking past the several doors down the hall she finally made it to her room at the very end of the hall. She walked into her small and dark room, the same room she had since she was six years old, almost thirteen years, and shut the door behind her, lying on her bed and just starring at the ceiling. The entire floor was quiet, she couldn't even hear footsteps and anyone snoring or breathing. And she was sure the floor was empty, she remembered having many sleepless nights because everyone on the floor breathed loudly. Not snore just breath.

She didn't live in the barracks like the rest of the agents, instead lived in the upper decks where the Warrant Officers were. Hargrove and the others told her because it was for her protection. When she was younger she thought because she was special in some way, getting a room to herself while the others had to share rooms like a bunch of suckers. Later in life however she thought differently. She found it lonely. She sat here all alone while the others got to hang out together, eating snacks, watching movies, sharing stories, having sleepovers. However once again, as she got older she realized that they weren't having sleepovers, but instead they were, _blowing off steam_ as she had been told which she later learned meant they were just having sex. She'd gotten a few of those _sleepover_ invites, but of course always declined, mostly because she wasn't interested and her sex drive was practically at zero percent. To her sex was only meant to be between a married man and woman, and primarily for having children. Thats what Michigan had told her.

And speak of the devil, she heard a knock at the door and his voice sound from behind. "Hey. You okay?"

She at up from her bed and turned on the lamp beside her bed. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are there any boys in there?" He asked which made her snicker and scoff. "You know there aren't any boys in here."

Michigan opened the door and stepped in leaning against the closed door behind. He never needed to ask to come in. He was always welcomed in her eyes. "You don't have to worry about what Hargrove said. You did good out there."

Her smile disappeared as she thought about what Hargrove said not to long ago and just starring at the floor. "Maybe he was right though."

"Nope." Michigan stated firmly. "You've worked hard. What he said doesn't matter. If I said you were ready it's because you were ready." She looked back at him. "You did good out there and you should be proud. So why not spend some time with the team."

She remained silent. She was happy that Michigan always had her back and he was honest. He almost never said things just to make her happy, he was always honest with her. But what Hargrove said really stung. "I just want to be alone right now." She said. "So, if you don't mind."

"Of course." he said and then opened the door to step out. Before he closed it behind him he peeked in one last time. "Just remember Emma, if you need anything. I'm here." He said and then closed the door and walked away.

Emma lied back on her bed and stared at the ceiling in the quiet room. She started feeling good again from Michigan's words. She knew he was right. He wasn't just her mentor and trainer, he was also her friend. He was like a father to her, or uncle as he preferred to put it. Ever since she was a kid she could always confide in him for anything and everything. He taught her everything she knew and trained her to be the perfect weapon, but he was still humane and caring. Always putting heart into what they did.

She reach down to the drawer in her bed and pulled up her old stuffed dog. She remembered Michigan had gotten her this one day when she was eight and she was completely in love with it. She's had it ever since.

* * *

She remembered it was nearly eleven years ago, she was only eight years old. Since she was brought on board for Project Peacemaker at the age of six she had been training extensively to become the weapon she was told she was meant to be. Day after day after day she trained and fought and ran simulation after simulation, there was never time to just relax and play like regular kids.

There was one day she was running a drill. She ran through dirty, climbed high trees and fought off three highly trained bots. She beat two but the third one toke her down, before she could finish off the second. It delivered a heavy metal punch to her gut sending her to the ground, thats when the half beaten second bot got back up and together they started stomping on her little body until she felt her bones splint and crack. And then the drill ended.

When the bots stopped she just wanted to cry, but there was no crying. Weapons didn't cry, they just got stripped and cleaned so they could work properly. She could see through the windows all the soldiers and doctors viewing her failure with disappointment. The only one who didn't show disappointment was her instructor Michigan. She finally got back to her feet when Staff Sargent Cullen's came charging after her. He was real angry.

"WHAT THE F**K WAS THAT BE-204!" Cullens shouted.

She quickly got to her feet, afraid that he'd penalize her for being to slow. "I'm sorry Staff Sergeant, but they were too tough. I did my best."

"DID YOUR BEST!" He said and then punch the bot three time until its head finally came off. "IF YOU WERE AT YOUR BEST YOU WOULD HAVE DONE THAT IN ONE GO!"

She flinched at the attack he gave. She was afraid of all this and she didn't do a good job of hiding. "I'm sorry Staff Sergeant. I'll do better next time."

At that he started clenching his fists hard his knuckles whitened. "Hit me!" He demanded much to her surprise. "HIT ME BE-204!" He shouted. She swung for a punch and he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her to the ground. He kept his grip around her neck choking her. "YOU A F**KING JOKE! IF IT WERE UP TO ME I'D GET RID OF YOU LIKE THE SH*T YOU ARE! GET THE F**K OUT OF HERE!" He shouted and then threw her away.

She wanted to cry, she wanted to run away, but no. That would just make the whole situation worse. She got back to her feet, dusted herself off and walked away. That was the last time she ever saw Staff Sergeant Cullens, or anyone saw him for that matter. After that incident, he just vanished. When she saw the look on Michigan's face as she was walking out, she saw something in his eye, the way he looked toward Cullens was, frightening. Intensions, Evil.

After yet another examination with the doctors she finally made it back to her room. Her body ached and pained, she was ready to just lie on her bed and sleep and maybe cry a little. She at least had a little privacy in her own room. She she sat on her bed, she heard a knock on her door. It was Michigan. He steppe into her room and she was sure she was gonna get yelled at. But then again, Michigan was never one to raise his voice. "Hey kid, how are you feeling?" He asked and with always genuine concern.

She sat up on her bed and feeling the fabric of her blanket. "I'm tired. Everything hurts." She said and then started reaching for her neck where Cullens choked her. "He was mean."

Michigan slowly walked up to and kneeled down beside her. He had that soft and sincere smile that he always had. "Well, I thought you did good. The bots were cheating a little."

"Staff Sergeant hurt me." She said.

Michigan pulled out a deck of cards so that they could play a little game of Go Fish. He also gave her a little cupcake as a gift. "I know. And he was way out of line." He spread out the cards and Emma took them so they could start playing. "I'm gonna see if I can talk to him and Mr. Hargrove about it."

His words and his cupcake brought a smile to Emma. Today was the second anniversary of when she first started training with him. And ever since, on special days they would do something special like enjoy sweet treats. They spent the next ten minutes playing their little game of Go Fish. Emma had been told in the past that she wasn't meant to spend any time with the instructors outside of training. She thought it was nice that Michigan spent so much time and playing little games with her. She felt like a real kid when they did. He was getting ready to leave when he packed up the cards.

"Thank you for being nice, Mr. Michigan." She said and then climbed into bed and got ready to go to sleep. She took on of her pillows and clutched it tightly in her arms like a toy.

"You okay there Emma?" Michigan asked.

"Yeah." She said and then looked at what she was doing. "I just like hugging this. I wish I had a toy, but I know I can't have any."

It was then that Michigan reach behind him where he was ready to pull something out. "Oh well, then maybe we should keep this between the two of us." He said and then pulled out a stuffed animal of a large corgi dog and plopped it in front of Emma. He eyes illuminated brightly and she wrapped her arms around it instantly.

"Baxter!" She called and hugged it tightly. "Your so fluffy. And such a good boy." She said.

Michigan was proud that she was happy with the toy. But her found it concerning, she named it Baxter immediately. She held like she had loved it all her life, even though she just met it.

"I'm glad you liked it."

She leapt off the floor and hopped back onto her bed placing Baxter right next to her."He's perfect. He's the best pupper, ever. Of all time. Thank you Mr. Michigan."

She said and hugged him then hugged him. Michigan said nothing but hugged her back. After they parted they said good night and Michigan walked out of the room. Emma got into bed and cuddled up with Baxter ready to fall asleep. It had been the best sleep she had in years.

* * *

She remembered that like it happened just yesterday. In the years that followed, every time Emma returned to her room after training there was Baxter waiting for her to cheer her up. And almost every night she would cuddle up with Baxter and fall asleep in sweet bliss. The memory of her fluffy friend and her mentors compassion brightened her spirits and she no longer felt the need to hide in her room, and so she put Baxter down on her bed and then walked out of her room.

She made her way back down to the armory where she found North cleaning his weapons. He looked up from his SMG when he spotted her entering the room. He stood up, placing his gun on the table and walking up to her. "Hey, your looking better." He said.

Emma greeted her teammate with a smile. "Yeah. I just needed a little rest. The excitement was a little to much I guess." She said before going to her locker. "I thought you were in the Mess Hall."

"I forgot something down here. Lucky I ran into you." He said. "What are you doing down here anyway?"

Emma pulled out her Magnum from her Locker and took a box of ammo with her. "I don't really know. I just figured I'll hit the range."

North gave a playful scoff. "What you wanna beat your high score? Again?"

Emma snorted a laugh. "Maybe." She said.

There fun was halted to an end when the doors slid open and DC walked in. Every time she walked in, the joy and fun seemed to die down. When she saw them together, a smirk grew on her face and she began to tease. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was I interrupting something?" She said.

The other two groaned hearing her comment. "Oh great." North said quietly.

"I heard that the boss was unhappy about you performance on that mission. It seems as though it was a mistake to send you. Better to leave important assignments to the professional." She said.

"What do you want DC?" North said.

DC slowly approached the two with the sly smirk. "I'm here to give you a little advice. Leader to leader."

She remained silent for an annoying amount of time that North finally had to speak up. "Well?"

DC placed a hand on his shoulder. "Next time, don't f**k up and learn when to back down." She said.

North shoved her hand off and just starred at his older sister with hatred. Emma was also annoyed with her, standing with her arms crossed and staring silently at her with distain. DC took a step back ready to leave when she made one last comment. "Oh and also that its a bad idea to be sleeping with your teammates."

At that the two were completely shocked they nearly lost it. "WHAT THE F**K!" North shouted.

"EXCUSE ME!" Emma shouted as well from the unbelievable claim.

DC hid the smile on her face from the joy she was having from this. "Well there has to be a reason for your poor leadership. I figured your to busy getting your dick wet with this bitch that your not focusing on your responsibilities as a leader." She said looking at Emma with distain.

Emma lost it. She slammed her fist into the locker and marched right up to DC. "You know what I've had enough of your sh*t!" Emma threatened. "Why don't you and I go down to the arena and settle this. One on one and I'll mess up that pretty little face of yours!" She demanded.

DC approached her with that sly smirk again. She was at least six inches taller then her but Emma knew that she could beat her without breaking a sweat. North tried getting in between them, not wanting for this to escalate into an actual fight. "As if I'm dumb enough to fall for that. You think I'm gonna risk my well being in a fight with an experiment like you!" She said that caught Emma and North by surprise. "I know _what_ you are. You were created in some lab with a reinforced skeletal system and a thicker muscular system. You weren't _born_ , you didn't have parents like us. You didn't have to go through the training that we've ALL been through. You were created to be a weapon. But they discarded you. Because your worthless!" She said and then walked out leaving Emma silent.

North tried to comfort Emma who was now in a silent distraught form. "Hey East? I'm sorry she said that. You okay?" He asked. He reached up to place his hand on her shoulder. Before he could reach her she took a step back and walked away. Nobody else saw her for the rest pf the day.


End file.
